The trouble with the current generation of headsets is that they not only cost a lot on their own, but also require high-end PCs to VR experiences on them - raising the price of admission to at least $1,500. The Verge reports that Microsoft's cheaper offerings won't be all that demanding.

It noted that a "Windows Holographic First Run" app for testing compatibility with Microsoft's upcoming VR platform is included in the latest test builds of Windows 10, and it revealed the minimum hardware requirements for VR experiences:

4GB of RAM

USB 3.0 port

A graphics card with DirectX 12 support

4 CPU cores, including dual-core processors with hyperthreading

That's not scary at all, and it should be possible for most folks with modest PCs to give VR a try. Of course, we'll have to wait and see what sort of apps run on such machines.

Microsoft is also expected to share more information about how the headsets will work next month, when it hosts a couple of Windows Hardware Engineering Community (WinHEC) events - the first will be in Shenzen, China, on December 8-9; the second will be in Taipei, Taiwan from December 14-15.